Chapter 8: Laughing Dead

"Doctor? Are you sure you want to continue this?" The nurse asked the doctor as the two made their way down the hall and to the doctor's office.

"We've been talking for almost a year now. Regardless of what happened last night I still believe he can be redeemed." Doctor Irvin said. The incident he was talking about was about how last night his patient ripped the throat out of a guard last night.

Doctor Irvin worked at a mental asylum as the head doctor. For the past year he had been working with one of the patient. The patient's name was Angus Hendriks but he didn't respond to that name. The patient only responded to the name, 'Smiles.' Angus chose this nickname because as he put it, 'he was the only one who still knew how to smile'.

Angus had been committed last year after he was found cutting the hand of his wife. After the incident Angus would do the same to anyone else who happened to cross his path. He would take their hands, eyes, feet, and even whole organs. Despite being so violent Doctor Irvin still believed he could recover and become a part of society again.

So for the past month Doctor Irvin had been meeting with Angus once a week for therapy. He thought things had been going well, until he had heard about the throat ripping incident. Doctor Irvin finally made it to his office and held the door handle. "Nurse, I appreciate you concern but he is been given slight sedation and he trusts me. I'll be fine." He said opening the door to find Angus lying on the couch.

"That will be all." Irvin said to the nurse.

"As you say doctor." The nurse responded leaving the two.

Doctor Irvin then walked over to his desk and sat down. Angus tired to lift his head up meet his eye contact but the drugs were too numbing. "I liked her." Angus said.

"Do you now?" Irvin said starting the tap recorded for today's session. He hopped that he could review today's session and latter identify what caused him to attack the guard in case he didn't admit to it.

"Yes I do Doctor. She was concerned for you well being. That is very kind." Angus said smiling.

"Well Smiles she was concerned that you might attack me. But she doesn't know you like that." Irvin responded leaning back in his chair.

"I wouldn't hurt you doctor. I only hurt that guard because he interrupted me." Angus said.

"What did he interrupt Smiles?" Ivirin asked.

Angus tried to lift his hands but to anvil. "There was a mouse in my room. It was trying to tell me something about the dead man." Angus said.

"The dead man?" Ivirn asked. Angus had never mentioned this person before so he was intrigued. Maybe this dead man could be the root of the problem.

"Yes the dead man. I know doctor, I was shocked too. I didn't know what it meant at first either. But then the mouse told me more. He told me it was a fairy tale." Angus said.

"A fairy tale?" Irvin asked.

"Yes it was very interesting. You should get comfortable doctor, this is a long story." Angus said.

Irvin nodded and pulled out a notepad ready to catch any important details.

"There was once a young prince. He was loved by the people and the people loved him. The prince loved a young princess from a nearby kingdom. The two would communication through the wind, sending messages of love. One day the young prince stopped receiving messages and the young prince was concerned something had happened to his princess. So gathering the bravest knights, the young prince set out with a magic set of armor and his trusty sword to find the princess." Angus said recounting the story.

Irvin took some notes and then nodded. "Then what happened?" He asked.

"The prince made it the princess castle only to find a terrible curse set upon it. The dead were coming back to alive and attacking the living. Many of the knights died in horrible and bloody ways as the young prince made his way deeper into the castle. Finally after searching for what seemed like days only the young prince remained. But he had found what he was looking for, the princess at the bottom of a well. The young prince wasted no time and jumped into the well after the princess but he was tricked. Instead he was dragged deep into hell itself." Angus said trying to help explain the story but moving his hands about but unable to do so.

"What happened to the prince after that?" Irvin asked now a bit intrigued by the story itself.

"Days, months, years passed and the young prince did not return to his kingdom. Finally the king gathered his army and set off to find him. The king lead his army to the castle and only found rubble and the bodies of the dead. The king found his son sitting down next to the well. He was older now and looked almost dead. His flesh was gray and it was hard to tell where his flesh began and his armor stooped. It was like the two had become one. The king was overjoyed to see his son alive and rushed to him. He hugged his son and asked, 'What happened to you my boy?'. The son laughed and responded, 'I was in hell father. It chewed me up and then spit me back out. Do you know why?' The song asked his father. 'Why?' The king asked. 'Because I left a bad taste in its mouth.' The son responded and chopped the head of the king. The son went on a rampage killing everyone in the army. No one could stop his fury and bloodlust. The young prince exited the castle and began to roam the lands, not dead but not alive either killing anyone that got in his way." Angus said.

Irvin felt a cold sweat drop down his neck. "Then what happened."

"See, this is why I punished the guard. The mouse was telling this part of the story when the guard came in. The guard told me to get back into bed. I told the guard I needed to hear the end of the story. The guard then rudely stepped on the mouse before he could finish his story. So I ripped out this throat." Angus said cackling to himself at the end.

Irvin gulped. "Well… I can see why you might respond that way." He said as the timer went off. "I'm sorry Smiles but were out of time."

"That's okay doctor I've finally decided." Angus said as two guards came in and picked him up off the couch.

"Decided on what?" Irvin asked.

"On what to take. I decided I'm going to take you eyes doctor." Angus said.

"My… eyes?" Irvin asked confused.

"I took the guard's throat so he could never interrupt anyone ever again. I've decided I'm going to take you eyes. You're a much better listener and your eyes only get in the way." Angus said as the guards dragged him to the door. "I'll be seeing you soon." Angus said cracking a smile as the guards closed the door.

The guards dragged Angus back to his room and threw him against the wall with a thud. Angus laid there for a moment. Too drugged up to respond. Then a figure dressed in black appeared from a dark corner. "It's time." The figure said.

"Oh goody. Before we go how does the story end?" Angus asked smiling.

The figure was silent for a moment then responded. "The dead man roamed the lands killing anyone who got in his way. The angels of heaven sent many warriors to stop him but nothing seemed to kill the dead man. For what can kill that is already dead? Finally the angels of heaven opened a door to another world and banished the dead man there. Never to return."

Angus laughed. "I like it." He said.

"Good. We have little time. Are you ready?" The figure asked.

"Almost. I just need to make a quick stop to see a old friend." Angus said cackling.

Isaac put away the dossier on the Angus and looked across to Ironwood. "Anything else I should know about this guy?" Isaac asked adjusting his suit a bit.

"Beyond that? Not much. He escaped from the mental ward three months ago. Murder his doctor on the way out. There has been a string of murders lately but the police have been unable to identify an assailant. Until now." Ironwood said. "About three hours ago I received an emergency distress signal from one of my ships. I sent in a team to investigate and only one man came back."

"And he had a picture of me?" Isaac asked.

Ironwood nodded. "More or less. The soldier came back with a picture of you but he keep calling you the dead man." Ironwood said pulling out the photo of Isaac. It showed Isaac without his suit teaching at Beacon. Isaac grimaced, he wasn't sure how that picture was taken but he would have to follow up on it after dealing with this problem.

Isaac sighed, he guessed that was his life though. Just when things seem to get simple something goes wrong. A broken bridge, no power, a broken piece of machine, it was always something. Isaac was a enginger and fixing problems was his job. "Alright, what's the plan?" Isaac asked.

"Were going to take you the hostile airship. There are still several hostages left on the airship. I want you to go in there and save them if possible." Ironwood said.

"And if I'm too late?" Isaac asked.

"Then you avenge them." Ironwood said his tone dripping with anger. Isaac understood how Ironwood felt. Being unable to do anything while the people you care for are at risk? It was a feeling Isaac had felt too many times in his life.

"I'll do my best." Isaac said standing up. Before he left the small room Ironwood place a hand on Isaac's shoulder.

"Wait. Before you go…. I want to apologize. When you first arrived I treated you with distrust and here you are risking your life for my men." Ironwood said offering Isaac a hand. "You've been here for some time now and if you were up to anything I would have noticed. I've been burned before trusting someone. I hope you can forgive me for the way I treated you."

Isaac shook Ironwood's hand. "Thank me after I come back with your men." He said.

Ironwood nodded as Isaac broke the handshake and made his way out of Ironwood's office and down to the docks. As he walked up to the ship that would take him to the hostile airship a soldier in a wheelchair approached him. "I doubt you remember me, but I could never forget that suit or the man who saved my life." The soldier said.

"Don't mention it." Isaac said remembering when he had first arrived. It had seemed to long ago too but in truth he had only been two months at the most. And most of it was spent teaching. Something Isaac never imagined he would be doing with his life.

"I have a favor to ask." The soldier said his head dropping. "Our captain. Scarlet, she was one the fist squads to go in. Everyone told me that they were taken back but… she's tough. Please, bring her back if you can." The soldier said a few tear drops hitting his pants his voice soft and full of fear.

Isaac put a hand on the soldier's shoulder, "I'll do what I can." He responded to the soldier's plea.

"Thank you." Was all the solider was able to say before wheeling himself away. Isaac closed his eyes as his helmet covered his face. He took in a deep breath as his entire world went silent for a moment. He took a moment to remind himself that this would be different. He wasn't going to fight a horde of necromorphs. This time he was going to save as many lives as possible. This had to be different, for Isaac's sake. After exhaling he jumped on the smaller airship as it took out of Ironwood's flagship and towards his destination.

Isaac wanted to take the weapon he had recently made with him but that was designed to fight a terror from beyond. Not humans. Though Isaac had to admit for the first time in what felt like years, he was nervous. From what he had witnessed from the warriors of this planet they were fast, deadly, and each one had a unique ability that could defy the laws of physics. This was a new fight for Isaac, but it wasn't one he was going to run away from. He wasn't afraid of fighting. He had been fighting for so long he had to feel fear.

The ship landed next to the airlock of the airship. "Alright here's the dropoff point. You should be connected to our com system so when you're ready for extraction let us know." The pilot said. Isaac nodded as he opened the door to the airlock to reveal a dark hallway. As Isaac stepped into the hallway and the door closed behind him the pilot offered Isaac parting words. "Show that manic what happens when you mess with us."

Isaac slowly made his way down the dark hallway, the light from his helmet and plasma cutter helping to illuminate the way. Isaac had always meant to upgrade his suit with night vision but had never gotten around to it. As he made his way deep down the hallway he suddenly felt himself step into a puddle. Isaac didn't need to see the puddle to know it was blood. He could never forget the unpleasant squashing sound. Isaac reached down and followed the trail of blood to a group of bodies. Each body in the pile belonged to a Atlas soldier. Mostly like squad sent to investigate. Isaac didn't flinch when he saw the pile of dead bodies, however he did shudder at what he saw next.

Pinned to the wall in front of him was Scarlet. Her hands and legs attached to the wall by several knifes. Her chest was ripped wide open to reveal a large gaping hole where her heart would be. If Isaac had to guess, the manic tortured her before ripping her heart out. Isaac touched Scarlet's face for a moment, he knew he shouldn't blame himself but deep down he knew his bad luck with women had something to do with her gruesome death.

As Isaac pulled his hand away Scarlet's hand somehow grabbed Isaac by the throat and began to lift him him. Scarlet's eyes and mouth began to glow as Isaac felt himself be lifted into the air unable to breath. "Dead man, dead man, fear the coming of the dead man." Scarlet's corpse seems to sing before dropping Isaac back down.

Isaac gasped for air slowly stood back up. Once again Scarlet's corpse remained as motionless as when he arrived. Suddenly a rage overtook Isaac he let out a scream as he punched at Scarlet's head barely avoiding hitting it. Instead he simply dent the wall next to her head. Isaac didn't move for a moment. Leaving his fist next to her head. Isaac wasn't sure what he was expecting really. Deep down he wanted her to come Necromorph. He wanted to tear her body to shreds so that he would never have to see her face again.

Isaac pulled his fist back. He would let the clean up crew deal with the bodies. Isaac refocused his attention and continued down the hallway until he arrived a door. He slowly opened the door to reveal the hanger of the airship. The hanger was thankfully light up and Isaac found himself standing at the balcony overlooking the docking part of the hanger. Down below him was Isaac assumed was the crew of the airship. And pacing back and forth in the middle of the hanger was none other than Angus. He had changed since his time in the mental asylum. His hair had gotten longer, reaching down to his shoulders. He was wearing large red arm guards along with a deep black shirt and pants. All along his body were knives of varying lengths.

Angus paced back and forth before stopping in front of the crew. He knelt down to meet one face to face. "Where is he?" Angus shouted at the crew member.

"I don't know." The crew member responded sobbing a bit.

Angus grabbed the crew member and lifted him up. Angus then grabbed a knife from his waist and held it to the crew members throat. He pressed light against his throat drawing a small amount of blood. "I did what I was asked. I killed those who needed to be killed. All I wanted was to meet the dead man. I thought that if I created a strong enough stench he would have no choice but to come. But here I am waiting for no one!" Angus screamed. Then a sudden smile appeared on his face. "That's it…. I didn't make the stench strong enough. The dead man needs more blood. More bodies!" Angus said bursting into laughter as he slit the throat of the crew member.

"No!" Isaac shouted jumping down from the balcony and to the floor of the hanger. Although Angus couldn't see his face Isaac was brimming with rage.

Angus gasped. "You came! You really came!" He said dropping the bloody knife.

"Let them go!" Isaac shouted raising his plasma cutter and pointing it at Angus. He wanted to fire on him right now. End the whole thing. But he couldn't be to hasty. Angus could still kill some of the hostages. And Isaac had questions.

"Of course. I just need them to bring you here. Now that you arrived I can kill them and be done with it." Angus said pulling out a knife in each hand and approaching the hostages.

"No! You don't touch them! Your fight is with me!" Isaac said firing a shot at Agnus missing his head by a few inches.

Angus turned back to Isaac and tilted his head. "I'm confused. Isn't this what you wanted? Death?" Angus asked.

"No, no more murder." Isaac said slowly approaching Angus.

Angus shook his head. A frown on his face. "You! You're not the dead man. You may have his magical armor but you're no dead man! You're a pretender! I hate pretenders!" Angus said throwing both knives in his hands at Isaac. Isaac caught one of the knifes with his kinesis and dodged the other one.

Isaac threw the knife back at Angus who knocked it away with one of this knifes. "Ohhh…. I like you pretender. Let's have some fun before the real dead man arrives." Angus said.

"Before we go any further. There was a girl. Your tore her heart out. Why!?" Isaac shouted.

"Why? That's what they always shout. Don't they see? It's not about the why. It's how I kill someone. She thought herself brave. She offered up herself in exchange for the life the crew. I was so moved by her bravery I had take her heart and see how it ticked." Angus said laughing. "It didn't last long after I pulled it out though. So I threw it away."

Isaac grinded his teeth. "You bastard I'll kill you!" He shouted his rage reaching its limit. He was going to tear Angus limb from limb. He was going to inflict as much pain as possible on him.

Angus smiled, "Oh, now that sounds like a dead man to me. The anger, the bloodlust, the utter disregard for your own life! Show me what you can do!" Angus said throwing up several knives in the air. They all gently floated in the air until each one turned and pointed at Isaac.

Isaac knew what was coming next as he ducked behind a box as the knife's rushed at him. Isaac hid for a moment waiting for the assault to pass over. The moment it did Isaac popped up behind the box and fired several rounds at Angus. Angus dodged out of the way and threw a knife at Isaac. Isaac grabbed the knife with kinesis again. "That's not going to work." Isaac shouted then to his surprise the knife duplicated in mid air and the second knife flew into Isaac's shoulder.

Isaac pulled the knife out of his shoulder as he applied medi-gel to the wound to stop the bleeding. It seemed duplication was this man's semblance. So Isaac decided to respond with his own. He rushed forward as he jumped into the air several crates began to float around him as the hanger lost its gravity. Isaac thought this would give him a leg up but Angus responded to the loss of gravity by jumping on a box and then duplicating a makeshift platform for him to jump off of and charge at Isaac. Isaac was caught off guard by the attack and blocked the incoming knife with his hand. The tip of the blade inches from his helmet. The two struggled as Isaac tired to push Angus away. Isaac reached out with his other hand and grabbed a floating crate with kinesis. He then pulled it towards him causing the crate to crash into Angus. The force of the crate caused Angus to slam into a wall as Isaac took the moment to pull the knife out of his hand.

Before Angus crashed into the wall he threw a knife at Isaac's leg. Although it didn't move very fast it was enough to puncture his suit. The blade reached deep down in his leg hitting his bone. Isaac let out a cry of pain as he slowly pulled the knife out.

Isaac threw away the knife as he began to think. Isaac knew that Angus couldn't throw any more knifes from where he was, but he was still able to attack him with incredible speed. Angus moved too fast for Isaac to hit him with static and throwing crates at Angus would only give him an advantage. As Isaac floated in mid air he noticed a red crate floating near by. Then he had a idea. Isaac grabbed the red crate with kinesis and threw it as Angus. "Take that!" Isaac shouted.

Angus laughed as pushed himself off the wall and held his hand out stopping the crate in mid air. He then created another platform for him to stand on. "Your not very smart." Angus said smiling as he prepared another attack.

"No, I'm not. But I'm smart enough to beat you." He said raising his plasma cutter and hitting the crate causing an explosion. Right at that moment Isaac stopped his semblance causing everything to drop to the ground with a hard thud.

Isaac landed to the ground triumphant as Angus fell to the ground slightly burned and his arm trapped underneath a pile of rubble. "I'll kill you!" Angus shouted furiously as he tried to pull his arm free.

Isaac shook his head as he pulled his helmet down. He made his way to the crew, "Everyone okay?" He asked them.

"A bit nauseous and bruised but we'll live." One of the crew members said.

"Good, now I need to take this maniac back to Ironwood. Think you can-" Isaac was saying turning back to where he had left Angus only to find a pool of blood. Isaac was then cut off as Angus jumped on top of him and began to strangle him with his one arm.

Isaac tired to fight back but Angus grip was as strong as steel. "You will die! I will kill you! Die!" Angus shouted like a wild animal, his eyes blood red.

Isaac began to lose concussion as he felt around for something to attack Angus with. Then he found one of Angus's kines. Without thinking Isaac grabbed the knife and then shoved it into Angus's head covering Isaac's face with blood. Angus let go of Isaac as he slowly touched the knife. "Maybe you we the dead man after all…" Angus said as he dropped on top of Isaac, dead.

Isaac pushed Angus's dead body off of him as he panted to regain his breath. Isaac slowly closed his eyes to get a moment to rest. He felt as though he deserved it. If only for the moment.

When Isaac opened his eyes again he was in his bed. Isaac looked around, his slowly pushed himself up but then cringed in pain. He looked down at his hand and leg. They were both wrapped in gauze. Isaac looked over to his clock to see that several hours had passed since he had left to fight Angus. Or days. Isaac wasn't quite sure. As he tried to remember how he gotten back the door to his room opened.

Then to his surprise Cinder walked into the room carrying a roll of gauze. "Oh, it seems you're awake now." She said.

Isaac was confused. "How did you… what are you doing here?" Isaac asked.

"Well I'm taking care of you. Ruby was taking care of you yesterday but she asked if I could watch you for a few hours." Cinder explained setting down the gauze.

"Yesterday? How long have I been out?" Isaac asked.

"Three days now. No one will tell us what happened to you." Cinder said. Then she smiled. "Or should I saw they don't really know. But I do."

Isaac didn't understand, what was she talking about? "Cinder… What are you saying?" Isaac asked.

Cinder slowly walked up to Isaac and raised her hand to shower her palm was red hot. "Let me explain Isaac." She said pressing his palm on Isaac's leg wound causing him to let out a cry of pain as he jumped out of bed. He gritted his teeth as he slowly began to crawl towards the door hoping to grab a weapon or help. But Cinder stepped on his hand wounds stopping in his tracks.

"Oh no Isaac. I'm not done with you yet." She said picking him up and throwing him against the wall causing Isaac to spit up some blood.

"Why are you doing this?" Isaac asked struggling to stay standing up. His knees shaking and his wounds reopened.

"Oh you poor old man. You really have no idea do you? Well let me make it simple. I have a plan and you keep interfering with it." She said grabbing a small knife and pointing it as his throat. "You just had to stick your nose into things that don't concern you."

Isaac didn't understand what was going on but even injured he wasn't going to lie down and die like this. He headbutted Cinder causing her to back up dazed. He then reached into his desk and pulled out a pistol. He pointed it at Cinder as she recovered. "If you're going to kill me you better not wait. I find I'm harder to kill with age." He said.

Cinder sneered, "If I wanted you dead I would have slit your throat as you slept. I'm just here to deliver a message." She said.

"What's the message?" Isaac asked still pointing his gun at her.

"I wanted you dead the moment you began talking with that boy but my… boss has other ideas. She wanted to offer you a choice." Cinder said.

"Let me guess, join us or die. I've heard it before and I'll tell you the same thing I've told everyone before you. If you think you can stop me you better get ready. Cause I won't stop until this world is safe. So tell your boss after I've destroyed the marker I'll come for them next." Isaac said.

There was silence for a moment and then Cinder laughed. "Plucky… but foolish." She said putting the knife away. "I've been ordered not to kill you out of respect for your talents but let me warn you, soon this world will burn. And you'll make wonderful fuel for the flames.

"Get out." Isaac said.

Cinder narrowed her eyes and headed to the door. "Before I go let me tell you something. You even think about interfering with our plans again or telling anyone what happened her, I'll kill that little girl that's taken a liking to you." She said.

"Touch one hair on her head I'll rip your eyes out." Isaac threatened.

Cinder smiled, "I'll like to see you try. And before you ask, I attacked you to release some pent up steam. But this isn't the end. I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on you. So sleep well Isaac, it might be the last time you do." She said walking out of the room.

Isaac let out a sigh of relief as he slowly sat down. He wasn't sure how to take that attack. But he couldn't help but laugh. She was a woman and she crossed Isaac's path. With his luck she would be dead by the end of the month. Still, Isaac was worried for Ruby. Now she was a hostage without knowing it.

Isaac was faced with another problem. Either he continued to pursue the Marker and Ruby or someone else would get hurt. Or do nothing until it was too late and everyone was dead. Every time Isaac felt like was making headway there was another problem. Just another fucking problem for a tired engineer. Isaac let himself drift back off to sleep as he thought of a way to save the world, or at least die trying.